Irène Jacob, guest of honour

Following in the footsteps of Jean-Luc Bideau, Barbet Schroeder, and Marthe Keller, we are delighted to present the 2026 7th Art Swiss Award to Irène Jacob, a luminous figure of European cinema. This award honours a Swiss artist whose international career—spanning Geneva, Paris, and London—celebrates an actress capable of inhabiting the screen with both quiet grace and profound intensity.

Her dual role in The Double Life of Véronique not only earned her the Best Actress Award at Cannes but also signaled the arrival of a major talent. Through her legendary collaboration with Krzysztof Kieślowski, most notably as Valentine in Three Colours: Red, she created a cinematic presence that remains etched in the collective memory. Beyond these milestones, she has worked with masters such as Antonioni, Schlöndorff, and Wenders, guided by an insatiable artistic curiosity and a deep devotion to the craft of acting.

Honouring her in an edition dedicated to Hope is a natural choice: her characters consistently create moments of emotional depth and significance within a complex world. Her visit to Lausanne offers a rare opportunity for a meaningful discussion about the actor’s journey and the enduring power of cinema to capture our most vivid emotions.